Goodbyes - Part 1

Trying to squeeze in some sense of how much I love and will miss family and friends is what I'm doing during the final get-togethers, and it is by far the most difficult part of the whole gig. There really is no way to do this successfully. Yes, this is exciting and another adventure; certainly people can come visit (you are all invited!), and it is not all that far away, with 90 min/2 hour flights from various East Coast cities. Sure, with email and Skype and this blog, we can keep up with each other, even see each other with video-enabled Skype calls. And we all have our own very full lives and interests, and I will be ridiculously busy for a while, getting settled in and learning.

But I've always enjoyed being home, however much I wander off, and this time it has been particularly good in most respects. (Granted, part of that may be that this was a hiatus, with few stresses or work-related tumult and angst.) I've been much 'smiley-er' and relaxed, making it a lot easier on those who put up with me on a regular basis. I've been able to catch up with a lot of my former coworkers and old friends, and have a fair amount of time with my son Trevor (and sometimes his lady friend Kelley), my sister Terry (and sometimes her hubby Dan and his kids), and my Mom, Fran. You are all such dears to me.

It is particularly hard to leave Mom, and especially in February. Mom's health is good, and she is the youngest 83 year old I think anyone could find anywhere, staying busy with her garden and yard and house, getting up to speed with the computer, learning Skype so we can chat easily and cheaply, being ready and willing to come visit. She went canoeing with Trevor this summer at our annual family reunion and coped with the near-inevitable dunking with equanimity and chuckles, has agreed to a three-generation parachute jump (at least for conversational purposes!) - and I earlier mentioned she had come out to California to be my co-pilot for the drive cross-country, exploring parts of the nation she had not seen before.

So she seems more like 65 than 83, which makes it easy to forget the years. The women in the family tend toward long lives, and she is mindful of her health. Nonetheless, I came home in part because I wanted to stay close over the next several years, knowing that there are fewer ahead than there are behind and wanting to make the most of however much time there might be. As grateful for and excited by the new posting as I am, I would love to be staying home for a while.

February, at least late February, is a part of the year my family would prefer to skip. We have lost a family member each of the last 4 Februarys - Dad and my brother James while I was in Italy, Mom's eldest sister's husband the next year, and her youngest sister this last year. We tend to try to stay close to home, stand under doorways and generally not tempt fate that last week of the month.